Andy Dunn

Chief Executive, Bonobos

The Stanford alumnus has helped to define and prove a new model for vertically integrated fashion retail in the e-commerce era.

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Biography

Andy Dunn is the co-founder and chief executive of Bonobos. Dunn told BoF he developed Bonobos with the intention of proving “that the world had changed, that you could now build a brand online. We were going to prove that the Internet was going to become the core medium for story-telling, for delivering great service, and for transacting goods.”

Dunn and his co-founder Brian Spaly, who is no longer part of the business, began by selling washed chinos from the boots of their cars at Stanford University in 2007. Following angel funding from 50 different investors totalling $8 million, Bonobos developed as an innovative men's e-tailer that created new fit methodologies and opened ‘guide stores,’ which carried products but did not sell them. In the process the company’s revenues doubled for four years in a row.

In founding and developing Bonobos, Dunn helped define and prove a new model for vertically integrated fashion retail in the e-commerce era. He has now succeeded in scaling the business, transforming an online-only venture selling a single product into a high-potential brand with estimated revenues of over $40 million in 2012.

But Dunn's ambitions for Bonobos don't end there. “In the premium menswear space, there are only a handful of companies who have gotten over $1 billion. The list is small. I think we have a chance to be that brand for the digital era. I see a path to half a billion of revenue in the US and half a billion globally. I don’t think we’ll be there in five years, but we’ll be on our way.”

In May 2015, Dunn briefly stepped down to become executive chairman, handing the reigns of chief executive to Francine Della Badia, the former president of North American retail at Coach. However, after only three months, Della Badia exited, citing a mismatch of cultures, and Dunn resumed his position as chief executive.